Preview · about 1 minute
Plant-floor overview. Full converter checklist below.
A peelable heat-seal coating for lidding has to match the lid, the cup, what is in the cup, how you fill it, and how you coat it. Use this as a trial checklist, not a spec sheet.
What to match before a trial
Lid film. Aluminum foil, PET, OPP, PE, paper or paperboard, PVDC, Tyvek, vinyl.
Cup, tray, or bottom web. Aluminum foil, PET or PETG, PVC, PS, HIPS, cast PP, HDPE, XT polymer, Barex, Aclar.
Contents. The seal has to be compatible with the food, drug, or device in the cup.
Hot fill. Jellies, jams, syrup, and sauces often fill at 170–200°F. You need hot tack at that temperature so the lid does not leak.
Cold. Citrus juices and concentrates are refrigerated or frozen. Keep flexibility and adhesion on both surfaces at low temperature.
Heat. Retort, autoclave, and ovenable packs may need bond integrity up to 350–450°F.
Chemistry. Grease, oil, acid, or corrosives, sometimes hot.
Vacuum and sterilizing gas. Some packs see vacuum. Medical devices often use ethylene oxide, so the coating must let gas in and out and not react with it. Some uses also need gamma stability.
FDA. Match the regulation to the lid, the food type, and the service conditions.
Peel. Call out low, moderate, or high peel, and how much coating should transfer. Some packs need a destruct bond.
Sealer and coater. Heat, pressure, and dwell at the bond line. Gravure, flexo, or roller coater. Solvent vs water-based, including any solvent-recovery limits.
By end use
Dry food
Coffee lightener and powdered drink mix are easy peels. Typical: Paper / extruded LDPE / HS – HIPS, or Paper / adhesive / OPP / HS – PVC. A water-based EVA dispersion usually works. No toluene into the LDPE, easy peel, low dry temp so polyolefin does not distort.
Dairy creamer
Simple: Paper / extruded LDPE / HS – HIPS. Need a moisture-resistant peel. An EVA gel lacquer (solvent solution of a hot melt) is common on heated gravure, with direct-food-contact compliance on polyolefin. Heavier lids: Paper / extruded LDPE / foil / HS – HIPS, with or without a vinyl primer. EVA can bridge on peel; then use a vinyl primer plus heat seal, both under FDA 21 CFR 175.300.
Jelly, condiments, citrus
Hot fill at 170–200°F. Sauces can be acidic (mustard oil). Need hot tack at 200°F, moisture, moderate grease, and chemical resistance. Example: PET / adhesive / foil / primer / HS – HIPS or PVC. Vinyl or vinyl-acrylic over a vinyl primer protects the foil. Or foil / adhesive / PET / HS to HIPS, PVDC, PVC, PP, or HDPE. A reinforced EVA gel lacquer covers a range of cup stocks; FDA 21 CFR 177.1630 often applies.
Citrus juice lids are often Print / foil / primer / HS – PVC, both coats solvent vinyl, pinhole-free against corrosion, with low-temperature adhesion for frozen product. FDA 21 CFR 175.300.
Greasy or oily foods
Clear lids over cheese or peanut butter are a hard peel. Example: OPP / print / PET / HS – PETG or PVC. Solvent EVA/nitrocellulose hybrid for clarity and grease resistance. FDA 21 CFR 177.1630.
Dual-ovenable trays
PET trays, or SBS board / PET, heated in a microwave or oven to 400°F. Covers: PET / HS – PET, or SBS / PET / HS – PET. Film lids must stay clear, hold at 400°F, and still peel. Board lids need the same heat and peel, not the clarity. Polyester-based coatings, FDA 21 CFR 177.1630.
Autoclave and aseptic
Adhesion to foil, seal to polypropylene for steam, stable to radiation. Construction: foil / HS – PP. Reinforced EVA gel lacquer for a controlled peel. Sterile water and peroxide-sterilized aseptic packs. The latter often cites FDA 21 CFR 178.1005.
Retort
121°C, 15 psi steam for about 80 minutes, then still peel after shelf storage. A modified polypropylene primer on foil is used here: 0.5 mil PET / 1 mil foil / primer – PP, or 2 mil foil / primer – PP. Dry/cure around 400°F for 30–35 seconds. Seals to cast or molded PP, or to another primed surface, at about 450°F for 1 second. Applesauce, orange juice, yogurt, cheese spreads. The primer complies with FDA 21 CFR 175.300.
Medical devices
Coat Tyvek or surgical kraft, then seal to PET, HIPS, HDPE, or PP trays. Example: Tyvek / primer / HS – tray. Needs ethylene-oxide porosity, humidity resistance, and heat resistance against sterilizer creep. On peel, coating should transfer to the tray flange as proof of closure. Large-particle EVA dispersions do this and hold up under radiation. Direct-food-contact waterborne grades are used when that compliance is required.
New lid films and cup stocks will need new coatings. Call 800-249-0337 or email sales@cattieadhesives.com for a sample.
Call 800-249-0337 Request a sample
Longer plant training (5–10 min)
Coming soon — downloadable deep-dive for the floor.
General plant guidance only — not a substitute for your process, SDS/TDS, or line trials. Call 800-249-0337 to match a grade.